Photo Catch-up

We did not have the time or equipment to get any photos up since Newport, VT, so I thought before I jump ahead I would file in some gaps in the visual presentation. Through that, some stories might jump out as well.

1.) This is Ben atop a holding tank of some kind near our campsite in West Charleston, VT. Had begun our ascent of the Clyde River early that morning, and decided to take the rest of the afternoon off. With the unsettling amount of free time we found ourselves with, the old power station beside our campsite became an object of interest and distraction. While hydroelectric generators still spun in the stout brick powerhouse, an adjacent and equally old building displayed a series of diesel back-ups. Whether the large holding tank once held diesel fuel or water, it still represented stored power for times of need. The tiny dam with its small impoundment foreshadowed what we would see in Maine.



2.) This photo was taken in Stark, NH, and contains a sliver of a popularly photographed scene, albeit from the wrong angle. The village of Stark has a beautiful church, covered bridge, and inn backed by an exposed ridge, but this was the most telling shot I had from the village. It shows our entire kit arranged for road portaging in the center of Stark Village, and was taken from the interior of the covered bridge. From our last sight of Vermont and the Connecticut River until we reached Umbagog Lake and thereby Maine, there exists about forty-five miles of upstream paddling on the Upper Ammonoosuc and Androscoggin Rivers, a few short portages, and one longer one. Of that, we were able to paddle only sparingly due to the torrential rains of the day before and the snowmelt of the season. I do not think that in my life of paddling I will ever again portage twenty-eight miles under my own power in two days.



3.) This photo was taken on the carry road between Richardson Lake and Mooselookmeguntic Lake. It was an easy portage, being quite short, but the piles of snow on either side of the trail made us feel even colder than we already did on that particularly raw day. Earlier that morning we had been forced to stop paddling and build a fire. It was just too cold: such is early season tripping, I learned.



4.) This is not a spectacular photo, as despite the quantity I took, quality eluded me in capturing Flagstaff Dam. Instead, I add it merely so I can point to it and say: "This is why Flagstaff Lake exists."



5.) After paddling down the Dead River from Flagstaff Dam and Lake, we portaged Grand Falls and began our ascent of Spencer Stream and Little Spencer Stream. Before we did, we found our way to an overlook of the falls and I got this photo of the largest waterfall on the trip. It is situations and photos like this that make me wish I knew my flora better. Then, I could give you a very interesting run down on why it grew there and how it was dealing with the advent of spring. That would surely make the photograph better; for now, use your imagination.



There, I've gone and gotten ahead of myself by a few dozen miles. I hope you enjoy tangled narratives.